The invention relates to the field of bird feeding stations and is particularly well adapted for dispensing of suet to birds while simultaneously being highly resistant to the elements yet easy to refill and care for. Its design inherently encourages acrobatic activity on the part of the bird and accordingly observation of the station is highly entertaining to bird watchers.
During cold winter weather small birds often have great difficulty in finding the food material they need for survival; the high energy content of suet makes it a highly desirable food for such birds.
The feeding station utilizes an open-top bowl with a chamber therein for containment of food and has a cover for closing the open top of the bowl, the cover and bowl being joinable by mating lips along a line of intersection. It is preferred that the station be spherical in shape and the bowl and cover each be hemispherical in shape and retained along their line of intersection by a set of annular lips on the cover and bowl. An elongated rod extends upwardly from the bowl, the lower end of the rod supporting and carrying the bowl and the upper end of the rod being hung from a support such as a tree or pole. The elongated rod extends upwardly from the bowl, preferably lying along the polar axis of the spherical body when the station is spherical in shape. The elongated member passes through an aperture at the pole of the cover, the aperture being larger than the diameter of the rod to permit sliding movement of the cover along the rod toward and away from the bowl, while also permitting tilting of the cover relative to the rod to thereby separate cover and bowl and enlarge the opening between them to facilitate insertion of food. Preferably the lower end of the rod is loosely retained by the bowl to permit the rod to be pivoted relative to the bowl to further increase the opening between the cover and bowl. A perch ring is fixed to the station and encircles it. The bowl has a plurality of perforations therethrough for dispensing of suet, permitting a bird hanging from the perch ring to extract the suet through the perforations.
The feeding station may be formed of lightweight plasticlike material and be of relatively small diameter such that when the station is hung from a support and used by a bird, the station will swing readily in response to bird movement and encourage a series of acrobatic movements by the bird in order to extract suet from the station.
The invention is sturdy, exceptionally reliable, long lasting and highly resistant to all types of weather. The preferred spherical outer shape of the station assures a large inner chamber for storage of food materials, and the unperforated upper hemisphere provides a precipitation shield to protect the contents of the station during inclement weather. The invention is economical to manufacture and provides a bird feeding station of substantial benefit to wildlife while also affording a source of many joyful hours of entertainment to bird watchers. These and other advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and from the appended drawings.